Advice From the Top Read online

  Advice from the Top

  1001 BITS OF BUSINESS WISDOM FROM THE GREAT LEADERS OF THE RECENT PAST

  EDITED BY

  DEL LEONARD JONES

  First published by Casey Strikes Out Publishing in 2018 Copyright © Del Leonard Jones, 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. Del Leonard Jones asserts the moral right to be identified as the editor of this work.

  ISBN print 978-1-7326052-2-0

  ISBN ebook 978-1-7326052-3-7

  Table of Contents

  Foreword

  Duane Ackerman, BellSouth CEO 1997-2006 on customer complaints

  Steve Appleton, Micron Technology CEO 1994-2012 on the leadership lessons of tennis

  Steve Baum, Sempra Energy CEO 1998-2006 on workplace diversity

  Steve Bennett, Intuit CEO 2000-07 on how to maintain dominance in an industry.

  Larry Brown, NBA and Olympic basketball coach on positive coaching

  Lewis Campbell, Textron CEO 1998-2009 on Six Sigma

  John Chambers, Cisco Systems CEO 1995-2015 on embracing technology

  John Chen, Sybase CEO 1998-2010 on China

  Mark Cuban, Self-made billionaire on risky business

  Michael Dell, Dell Computer founder and CEO on thriving in hard times

  Bob Dickinson, Carnival Cruise Lines CEO 2003-07 on grunt work

  Uwe Doerken, DHL executive chairman 2004-08 on outsourcing jobs to foreign countries

  Tim Draper, venture capital investor on the secret of success

  Annie Duke, professional poker player on the leadership lessons of Texas Hold’em

  Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team on beating impossible odds

  Vijay Eswaran, QI Group founder on starting the day with an hour of silence

  John Fisher, Saucony CEO 1991-2005 on being David vs. a Goliath named Nike

  Eric Foss, Pepsi Bottling CEO 2006-10 on retaining talent

  Israel Gaither, Salvation Army National Commander 2006-10 on a sense of mission

  Stuart Graham, Skanska CEO 2002-08 on Sweden’s pros and cons

  Jamie Houghton, Corning CEO 1983-96; 2002-05 on returning as a boomerang leader

  Molly Howard, 2008 school principal of the year on leadership lessons from the world of public education

  Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric CEO 2000-17 on R&D spending in a slow economy

  Kazuo Inamori, Kyocera founder on anti-U.S. sentiment

  Tom Joyner, radio host on the African-American market

  Bill Kaplan, blackjack card counter on applying 21 to everyday business

  Ewald Kist, ING CEO 2000-04 on the importance of physical fitness

  A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble CEO 2000-10 on being an effective boss

  Edward Liddy, Allstate CEO 1999-2008 on lobbying congress

  Peter Löscher, Siemens CEO 2007-13 on taking over an unethical company accused of bribery

  Ronnie Lott, NFL Hall-of-Famer on making life’s transitions

  Dan Lyons, Olympic rower on the leadership lessons of an oarsman

  Lorin Maazel, Music Director New York Philharmonic 2002-09 on leading like a conductor

  Frank MacInnis, Emcor Group CEO 1994-2011 on emerging from Chapter 11 in an unpredictable economy

  Howie Mandel, TV game show host on the awful risk of getting caught up in the emotion of the moment

  Wynton Marsalis, Trumpeter, composer, bandleader on the leadership lessons of jazz

  Mackey McDonald, VF CEO 1996-2006 on branding and marketing

  Nancy McKinstry, Wolters Kluwer CEO 2003-present on business in Europe

  Joe Moglia, TD Ameritrade CEO 2001-08 on the leadership lessons of football

  Thomas Monaghan, Domino’s Pizza founder on how to juggle faith, wealth and politics

  James Morgan, Applied Materials CEO 1977-2003 on leading through economic slumps

  Anne Mulcahy, Xerox CEO 2001-09 on leading through a disaster

  James Mullen, Biogen CEO 2000-10 on marching through disaster

  Bob Nardelli, Home Depot CEO 2000-07 on taking over a successful company

  Vineet Nayar, HCL Technologies CEO 2007-13 on worker democracy

  Clarence Otis, Darden Restaurants CEO 2004-13 on gaining market share when the pie shrinks

  Jeff Rich, Affiliated Computer Services CEO 1989-2005 on the discipline of M&A

  Sally Ride, first American woman in space 1983 on keeping girls interested in math and science

  Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie Robinson on the state of corporate diversity

  T.J. Rodgers, Cypress Semiconductor founder on fighting lawsuits

  Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft Foods CEO 2006-11 on taking charge in a transition

  Ron Sargent, Staples CEO 2002-16 on beefing up the board

  Julie Scardina, SeaWorld animal ambassador on the secrets of positive feedback

  Henry Silverman, Cendant CEO 1991-2006 on debt and taxes

  Fred Smith, FedEx founder on the leadership lessons of historical figures

  Gary Smith, Ciena CEO 2001-present on leading through a catastrophe that sinks the ship

  Bobby Unser, Indy race car driver on running full throttle

  Dan Vasella, Novartis CEO 1996-2010 on responding to activist scare tactics

  Sandy Weill, Citigroup CEO 1998-2003 on selling a book

  Jack Welch, General Electric CEO 1981-2001 on scraping off the barnacles

  Steve Young, 49er QB on the leadership lessons of football

  Edward Zore, Mutual Financial Network CEO 2001-10 on being counterintuitive

  If you had a son or daughter graduating from college or high school this year, what advice would you give to them?

  About the Editor

  About The Cremation of Sam McGee

  Foreword

  Chief executive officers and football coaches have much in common. For one, they field unusual questions from the business and sports media. The oddest question ever posed to me came in 2006 when I was CEO of TD Ameritrade. Del Jones of USA Today asked if I was spanked as a child.

  I have this curious habit of giving honest answers. I told him I was hit once a month when things were going well and once a week when things weren’t. My parents were hardworking immigrants, who didn’t like to find out I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. They didn’t like me in fistfights — unless someone else started it.

  I picked up USA Today to find out that Del had directed the same question to twenty CEOs. Rick Wagoner of General Motors had received occasional "whacks in the fanny," but said he probably deserved more. Leggett & Platt’s Dave Haffner confessed to Del that he was familiarized with his father's belt about six times a year, including the time he kicked down the door after his brother locked him in the basement. Mark Cuban got the “this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you,” speech from his dad. The mother of General Electric’s Jack Welch whacked him with a shoe if he skipped altar-boy practice.

  Del made a name for himself reporting such offbeat stories about business leaders. One was about cheating at golf. No CEO confessed, but each one had witnessed other CEOs cheating the game. Another of Del’s stories was about CEOs who had near-death experiences, including Micron Technology’s Steve Appleton, who had survived a stunt plane crash in 2004.

  “Kids who are 18 think they will live forever,” Appleton told Del. “They take huge risks when they have their entire lives ahead of them. When George Bush went skydiving at 80, they made a big deal. The older you g
et, the more risk you should take.”

  Three years after the interview, Appleton died when a plane he built from a kit crashed after takeoff. Pilot error was blamed.

  Del started writing unorthodox stories when USA Today decided it needed more CEOs to read the newspaper. The reason was clear. They heavily influenced advertising decisions and executives, especially New York executives, had their noses buried in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Del was given the corporate leadership beat to lure them into USA Today – and not just when they were traveling.

  Del chose to write stories of interest to executives, but he also wanted his work to appeal to USA Today’s more populist readership of NASCAR and Hollywood enthusiasts. Whatever he did worked. USA Today published more than 300 of his cover stories and nominated him for a Pulitzer Prize in beat reporting. He also wrote a monthly Q&A called Advice from the Top and interviewed the best-known CEOs of the time including Cuban, Xerox’s Anne Mulcahy, and Michael Dell. Their wisdom is boiled down in this book, which is a quick read for the busy. Don’t miss the lessons of history from FedEx’s Fred Smith.

  Del’s Advice from the Top Q&A became coveted real estate and he insisted that CEOs offer useful advice. He wouldn’t let them get away with mere promotion. For example, when Jack Welch had a book out and wanted to sell it, Del wouldn’t interview him until he agreed to talk about his controversial policy of firing the bottom 10% of GE employees each year.

  Some of the best business advice in the pages that follow came from successful people outside the corporate world, such as musicians Wynton Marsalis and Lorin Maazel, game show host Howie Mandel and astronaut Sally Ride, who died in 2012.

  Just before Super Bowl XXXIX, I gave an interview to Del about the football lessons that apply to business. He came to me because I’d been a high school and college football coach for 16 years and had written the book The Key to Winning Football: The Perimeter Attack Offense before I went into broker training at Merrill Lynch in 1984.

  Here are a few X’s and O’s from my interview with Del:

   Be sure your people are playing in the right positions.

   Know the odds of success and the consequence of failure when taking a risk.

   Ingenious game plans fail if no one is blocking and tackling.

   Success requires spiritual soundness, dedication, courage and love. Love is the willingness to sacrifice for the team. It doesn't matter how many points you score if the team loses.

  I left as CEO of TD Ameritrade in 2008 and became head football coach of Coastal Carolina in 2012. As I hurriedly write this, my team is preparing for the 2018 opener against South Carolina. My teams are 51-15 and have played well enough to win for me the Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year and an induction into the Vince Lombardi Hall of Fame. I’m the subject of the Monte Burke book, Fourth and Goal: One Man’s Quest to Recapture His Dream.

  A great deal of business leadership advice can be gleaned from sports figures as you will discover in Advice From the Top: 1001 Bits of Business Wisdom From the Great Leaders of the Recent Past. Del interviewed Ronnie Lott and Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers, NBA Coach Larry Brown, Indy driver Bobby Unser, poker professional Annie Duke, and Mike Eruzione, captain of the “Do you believe in miracles?” Olympic hockey team.

  Del has just published the timely historical novel The Cremation of Sam McGee set in the 1898 heyday of yellow journalism. The main character is a New York reporter who fabricates stories from the Spanish-American War in Cuba to boost circulation. That’s one reporter who deserved a spanking. Request the first chapter at:

  https://caseystrikesout.wixsite.com/website).

  Here are 1001 bits of wisdom. Some will not apply to your business. Many will and many will apply to your life. My one team rule as football coach of Coastal Carolina: Be A Man — better known in the locker room as “BAM.” I ask my student-athletes to stand on their own two feet and take responsibility for their actions.

  ––Joe Moglia

  Don’t give lip service

  — Duane Ackerman, BellSouth CEO 1997-2006 on customer complaints

   No matter who you are, when a customer complaint rises to your level, you own it until it gets fixed.

   Know how many complaints per 1,000 customers your company receives. Know how it’s trending? Use an unbiased third party to track it.

   Customer surveys should be quick, never a hassle.

   Some customers are so difficult they’re worth sending to a competitor.

  “Remember, it costs more to get a new customer than to hold onto one.”

   Airlines know that customers book the lowest fare. They won’t often pay for better service. If that’s the case in your industry, don’t promise everything, manage expectations, but strive to live up to what’s promised.

  Did you know?

  Ackerman has a physics degree from Rollins College and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  Year after year, BellSouth had the highest rating for customer service among local phone service providers.

  Real men win 6-love, 6-love

  — Steve Appleton, Micron Technology CEO 1994-2012 on the leadership lessons of tennis

   Tennis is superior to golf. It’s better exercise and takes less time. Golf is overrated as a lubricant for business transactions.

  “You don't wander around the woods looking for a ball that suddenly shows up. I can't stand people who cheat.”

   A dishonest opponent in sports is likely to be dishonest in business.

   A tennis player behind 5-0 will conserve energy for the next set. Likewise, business leaders decide where to apply resources and where to do battle.

   Don't play it safe. If the only goal is to avoid mistakes, move to Japan.

  “I played a customer from a Japanese company who thought he was really good. I beat him 6-0, 6-0. I wouldn’t want anybody losing points to me on purpose.”

   Sit back and wait and be eaten alive.

   Roger Federer hits winner after winner, but he’s smart about it. He studies his opponents. Micron has employees who do nothing but look at the data and products of competitors.

   Small start-ups go for broke. Big, successful companies have the resources to be bold, but tend to play it safe. That doesn’t make sense.

  “When George Bush went skydiving at 80, they made a big deal. What if his parachute didn’t open? So what? It’s not like the guy hasn’t done anything with his life. The older you get, the more risk you should take.”

   Focus less on winning or losing. Focus on what it takes to win or lose.

   Don’t teach children to be good losers. Life is not fair. Winning at all costs is a relative phrase, but definitely tell kids to go out and win.

   Temper tantrums are OK for the young, but not for an experienced executive in a leadership role.

   Tell employees to win. Explain the strategy. Get them to understand what must be accomplished.

   The business world moves fast but it's in slow motion compared to tennis. Don’t panic.

  Did you know?

  Appleton played tennis at Boise State and on the satellite professional circuit.

  Played a tiebreaker in college and lost three straight points to lose the match. He beat the head off of five wood rackets against a post. The wood was swept from the court with a broom.

  “I didn’t hurt anybody, I didn’t scream at anybody. I didn’t offend anybody. They might have thought I was nuts. It’s a sign of immaturity.”

  Started with Micron Technology in 1983 at $4.46 an hour. Became CEO in 1994 at age 34, the third-youngest Fortune 500 CEO at that time.

  Owned more than 20 airplanes and flew aerobatics. Crashed in July 2004 when his stunt plane stalled 25 feet off the ground. Saved his life with a last-second left rudder adjustment that elevated the plane's right wing.

  Died in 2012 when a plane he built from a kit crashed after takeoff in Boise. Pilot erro
r was blamed.

  “Kids who are 18 think they will live forever and take huge risk. They have their entire lives ahead of them. If I were to die tomorrow, I have no complaints. I’ve experienced more than anybody should expect in a lifetime.”

  Enrich debate inside the company

  — Steve Baum, Sempra Energy CEO 1998-2006 on workplace diversity

   Strive not just for diversity of race, ethnicity and sex, but a diversity of point of view and perspective. It’s a competitive advantage.

  “We're not Noah's Ark. We don't need two of each.”

   Shareholders aren’t interested in diversity. Explain to them the role of workforce composition.

   Diversify in a slow economy when it’s easier to find good workers.

  “Skin color or sexual preference won’t get you promoted. Performance will.”

   Lawsuits don’t go away when a company diversifies. They increase, an unintended consequence of doing the right thing.

   The culture must also change, or women and minority groups will become discouraged and sue where they otherwise wouldn’t.

   Can’t find qualified workers? A reputation as a welcoming company enhances recruitment of the best minorities and women. Most don't want to be the first to crack the all-white, male barrier where they may have to constantly fight the fight.

  Did you know?

  Baum was a Marine Corps captain.

  Competed in high school football, wrestling and crew.

  Hobbies include cooking, wine collecting and hunting.

  Studied French and German in school, but learned Spanish well enough to do TV interviews and negotiate contracts in Mexico.

  King of the hill

  — Steve Bennett, Intuit CEO 2000-07 on how to maintain dominance in an industry.

   Never be a good loser. Be a good learner. Focus on unmet opportunities.